[Kona], my friend, what the hell were you thinking? That was my first response on opening this episode, anyway. Weird stone/metal block buildings, Id rocks, ikbase streetlamps (!), base-style floor lamps and light strips. I've seen good attempts at making grotesque levels, but this is episode is probably the most successful of them all. Don't misunderstand, though; it's not ugly the way a mistextured fullbright box is ugly, it's actually a style well conceived and executed that just happens to hurt my eyes. The fact that the episode is an early work by the author probably explains much of its exuberant weirdness. This being a [Kona] project, there are obviously custom monsters, including the rocket ogre, armored knight, axebot, modded death knights, and that boss guy from necrobrood (no obit message in the QC so I don't know what he's called but it's an awesome enemy).

 

Looking beyond the textures, map #1 is designed almost entirely on a 64x64 grid and has a blocky and solid feel to it. There is plenty of detail despite the large scale, in chunky crenellated walls, metal shafts, large beams criscrossing the ceiling, etc. No single area really stands out but then again no area is particularly boxy either. Monster surprises are frequent. At first I wondered what all the ammo was for, until reinforcements started showing up everywhere- nice. Most enemies are well placed in positions that are difficult but not unfair. The layout of this first map is quite creative, but only if you're willing to ignore the blatant shortcut right at the start. When I first played the map, I exited in 20 seconds because I thought it was a route option.


 
 
The second mission is a smaller near-transitional map that takes place in a large canyon, impressive except for the inexplicable hole(s) to the grey void in places. I found it rather amusing that by giving the scrags too much attention at the beginning, I wound up walking right over a cliff. The monsters do seem to use the surrounding geometry effectively. The indoor areas of the map are in the same basic theme, but slightly more detailed with more use of angles. There's another unfortunate shortcut here too, but not as obvious.Map #3 uses more diverse textures, which is something of a relief. Some reddish-brown stone textures and celtic knot trim have been added for more smaller and/or more subtle detail. The doors are also better looking. It's another small map so the difficulty escalates pretty quickly. One entertaining moment involved rocket ogres firing rockets across a gap from lower ground. I really wish that had been used more often, as it's one of the many creative gameplay aspects that make this entire episode redeemable despite the crude design. The final boss fight is great but I found the section before unfair without trial and error and eventually settled for a cheap solution. Ultimately, I think the episode is worthwile if you're up for some challenging gameplay and insight into how twisted [Kona] can be, and who isn't?